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Lindokuhle Mnguni

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Lindokuhle Mnguni speaking at an Abahlali baseMjondolo event

Lindokuhle Mnguni (b. 1994 - August 20, 2022) was a land activist and a prominent leader in the shack dwellers' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo.[1][2][3] He was chairperson of the movement's youth league as well as the chairperson of the eKhenana Commune.[4] He was a leader of eKhenana's food sovereignty project which sought to make the commune more self-sustaining and independent.[5] [6] He was assassinated on 8 August 2022.[7]

Politics

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Mnguni self-identified as a communist, a pan-Africanist and a feminist.[8] He opposed xenophobia.[9] Inspired by the Landless Workers' Movement (MST) in Brazil, Mnguni sought to develop an educational programme for the commune that centred around food sovereignty, sustainable development and a model of democratic self-organisation of the poor.[10][11][12] [13]

Arrests and repression against eKhenana

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The eKhenana Commune has been the target of repression since its founding in 2018.[14][15] In March 2021, Lindokuhle Mnguni was arrested and charged with murder along with three other leaders of the movement, Ayanda Ngila, Landu Shazi and Maphiwe Gasela. They were held without bail for over six months. However charges were eventually withdrawn on 27 September 2021, when the sole witness, Mabongi Luthuli, recanted her accusations and admitted to lying under oath.[16][17][18]

Along with these arrest, a number of other leaders in Abahlali baseMjondolo were arrested, including Maphiwe Gasela, Siniko Miya, Nokuthula Mabaso, Thozama Mazwi and Sindiswa Ngcobo and, most notably, the deputy president of the movement, Mqapheli Bonono. The cases have been referred to as "bogus" and politically motivated.[19][20][21] All cases against AbM members were eventually dropped for lack of evidence. A number of further attacks on movement members in eKhenana, including assault and arson, were said to have occurred later that year including attacks on movement leaders, including Mnguni.[22]

As a result, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) began litigation to sue the state for damages in relation to the unlawful arrest and malicious prosecution of Mnguni and other movement leaders.[23][24]

Speaking at a public event in June 2022, two months before he was assassinated, Mnguni said "their strategy to keep us behind bars is not working and the only choice they will be left with is to kill us, but we won’t stop...They will kill us. We even said, ‘it is socialism or death!’ because we want it. No matter what it takes, even if it means death, because we can’t continue living in these inhumane conditions.”[25]

Assassination

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On 8 March 2022, while on his way to fix a water piple, four attackers entered the eKhenana Commune and attempted to assassinate Lindokuhle Mnguni. He escaped unharmed. However the deputy chairperson of the Commune, Ayanda Ngila, was killed by the hitmen who are said to be linked to the local taxi industry and local political leaders in the African National Congress. Mnguni was a state witness to Ngila's murder.[26][27][28][29][30][31][32]

On 20 August 2022, in the early morning, Lindokuhle Mnguni was killed when two gunmen entered the settlement.[33] The gunmen searched for Mnguni at the community hall and communal kitchen before eventually finding him and his partner asleep inside his home. They fired 13 shots, killing Mnguni and critically injuring his partner who eventually survived. The search and assassination were caught on CCTV cameras that had been installed after the death of Ngila and Nokuthula Mabaso.[34][35][36][37][38][39] [40] [41][42]

Reaction

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The assassination was widely condemned, including by the largest trade union in South Africa, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa who described Mnguni as "a brilliant thinker, proud communist and internationalist",[43] the South African Human Rights Commission,[44][45] as well as over 130 other civil society organisations.[46] It was discussed at the 51st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2022.[47]

Notes and references

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  1. ^ Abahlali BaseMjondolo: Living Politics, Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa, September 2022
  2. ^ More than twenty activists killed in eThekwini battle for land, Paddy Harper, Mail & Guardian, 13 October 2022
  3. ^ Urge for action on land reform, Bulelwa Mabasa, Mail & Guardian, 30 September 2022
  4. ^ Third Abahlali baseMjondolo leader – Lindokuhle Mnguni – murdered in cold blood, Zukiswa Pikoli, Daily Maverick, 21 August 2022
  5. ^ eKhenana residents are tilling for freedom, Nomfundo Xolo, New Frame, 13 August 2020
  6. ^ Cato Manor leader gunned down , Benita Enoch, Groundup, 21 August 2022
  7. ^ ‘Our hearts are heavy’: Another KZN activist gunned down inside his home, Lisalee Solomons, News24, 20 August 2022.
  8. ^ The Forge Youth Month Series - Living Socialism by Lindokuhle Mnguni, Recording of a public talks given by Lindokuhle Mnguni in June 2022
  9. ^ The Forge Youth Month Series - Living Socialism by Lindokuhle Mnguni, Recording of a public talks given by Lindokuhle Mnguni in June 2022
  10. ^ Lindokuhle Mnguni 'enriched all of our lives', says land activist group of murdered commune leader, TimesLIVE, 22 August 2022
  11. ^ The unseen massacre of Durban shack dwellers, Jared Sacks, Mail and Guardian, 23 August 2022
  12. ^ eKhenana residents are tilling for freedom, Nomfundo Xolo, New Frame, 13 August 2020
  13. ^ Cato Manor leader gunned down , Benita Enoch, Groundup, 21 August 2022
  14. ^ Abahlali BaseMjondolo: Living Politics, Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa, September 2022
  15. ^ The Abahlali baseMjondolo experience exposes South Africa’s shrinking democratic space,Thato Masiangoako, Daily Maverick, 18 October 2022
  16. ^ The Punishment is the Process: An investigation into the volatile situation at eKhenana Informal Settlement in Cato Manor, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Jared Sacks, Academia.edu, 27 October 2021
  17. ^ Trouble in the promised land, Chris Makhaye and Nomfundo Xolo, New Frame, 8 November 2021
  18. ^ Abahlali baseMjondolo: Living Politics, Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa, September 2022
  19. ^ Murder of Abahlali baseMjondolo leader, Ayanda Ngila, condemned, Willem Phungula, Daily News, 10 March 2022
  20. ^ Abahlali Basemjondolo trio acquitted of murder charges, Thabiso Goba, The Citizen, 30 September 2021
  21. ^ Trouble in the promised land, Chris Makhaye and Nomfundo Xolo, New Frame, 8 November 2021
  22. ^ The Punishment is the Process: An investigation into the volatile situation at eKhenana Informal Settlement in Cato Manor, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Jared Sacks, Academia.edu, 27 October 2021
  23. ^ Lindokuhle Mnguni 'enriched all of our lives', says land activist group of murdered commune leader, Sowetan, 22 August 2022
  24. ^ SERI mourns the death of eKhenana Commune Chairperson Lindokuhle Mnguni , SERI, 20 August 2022
  25. ^ Third Abahlali baseMjondolo leader – Lindokuhle Mnguni – murdered in cold blood, Zukiswa Pikoli, Daily Maverick, 21 August 2022
  26. ^ Abahlali activist murdered , Xolile Nkosi, DailySun, 10 March 2022
  27. ^ Abahlali activist is killed at home in eKhenana, Nomfundo Xolo, New Frame, 6 May 2022
  28. ^ Abahlali baseMjondolo activist murdered in Cato Crest, Sibahle Anthony Siqathule, Rising Sun Overport, 16 March 2022
  29. ^ Prominent land activist Ayanda Ngila gunned down in KZN — Abahlali points finger at ANC, Chris Makhaye, Daily Maverick, 8 March 2022
  30. ^ "The murder of Abahlali's Ayanda Ngila is an injury to us all". Daily Maverick. 15 March 2022.
  31. ^ "Killing of land rights defender Ayanda Ngila and targeting of Abahlali baseMjondolo". 25 March 2022.
  32. ^ Murder of Abahlali baseMjondolo leader, Ayanda Ngila, condemned, Willem Phungula, Daily News, 10 March 2022
  33. ^ “A fearless leader”: South African shack-dwellers’ leader, Lindokuhle Mnguni, assassinated in Durban, Pavan Kulkarni, People's Dispatch, 23 August 2022
  34. ^ The unseen massacre of Durban shack dwellers, Jared Sacks, Mail and Guardian, 23 August 2022
  35. ^ Prominent land activist Ayanda Ngila gunned down in KZN — Abahlali points finger at ANC, Chris Makhaye, Daily Maverick, 8 March 2022
  36. ^ "The murder of Abahlali's Ayanda Ngila is an injury to us all". Daily Maverick. 15 March 2022.
  37. ^ "Killing of land rights defender Ayanda Ngila and targeting of Abahlali baseMjondolo". Front Line Defenders. 25 March 2022.
  38. ^ Murder of Abahlali baseMjondolo leader, Ayanda Ngila, condemned, Willem Phungula, DailyNews, 10 March 2022
  39. ^ ‘Our hearts are heavy’: Another KZN activist gunned down inside his home , Lisalee Solomons, News24, 20 August 2022
  40. ^ [https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-08-23-killers-of-abahlali-basemjondolo-leader-hunted-him-down-in-his-shack-after-failing-to-find-two-of-his-colleagues/ Killers of Abahlali baseMjondolo leader hunted him down in his shack after failing to find two of his colleagues], Zukiswa Pikoli, Daily Maverick, 23 August 2022
  41. ^ Third Abahlali baseMjondolo leader – Lindokuhle Mnguni – murdered in cold blood, Zukiswa Pikoli, Daily Maverick, 21 August 2022
  42. ^ Abahlali leader – Murder of Lindokuhle Mnguni ‘the end of our constitutional democracy’, Zukiswa Pikoli, Daily Maverick, 26 August 2022
  43. ^ The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa stands in solidarity with Abahlali baseMjondolo following the assassination of yet another one of its leaders
  44. ^ Abahlali baseMjondolo member's murder was 'deliberate', Radio 702, 17 May 2022
  45. ^ The South African Human Rights Commission condemns the brutal killing of Lindokuhle Mnguni, a leader within the Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement , South African Human Rights Commission, 22 August 2022
  46. ^ Civil Society organisations condemn the South African government for allowing the targeting of Abahlali baseMjondolo human rights defenders., SERI, 9 September 2022
  47. ^ General Debate under Item 8 of the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council (12 September – 7 October 2022)

See also

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